2023 EPI Forecasts: Nexi Group
Summary
2022 was a year of transition for consumers, as BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) and mobile payments became mainstream, SoftPos technologies swept into the retail world, and CBDCs took another major step forward in their development. On one hand, BNPL has broadened the opportunities for consumer purchasing and merchant sales, but on the other, its business model may soon face harder times with higher interest rates and increasing costs of capital, shifting the focus from pure growth to sustainability in the long-term. Merchants will progressively adopt omnichannel solutions, aiming to capture eCommerce growth, and will implement data-driven value-added services (VAS) to increase conversion on online and offline platforms. This promotes greater financial inclusion in a world where new forms of private-led money, namely cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, have turned out to be risky investment assets rather than a digital storage and transfer of value. Fintechs should focus on how to attract new recruits in a challenging talent market, while they commit to upskilling new hires, to ensure that they have the specific technical skills required to develop the next generation of payment technology.